Putin Cut From Two Upcoming Hollywood Movies
Though the Russian president may be off-limits thanks to hacking concerns, Russia-themed thrillers (including 'Red Sparrow,' starring Jennifer Lawrence as a spy) are white hot as a new red dawn rises in Hollywood.
Hollywood isn't ready to give screen time to Russian president Vladimir Putin, who's been excised from two upcoming studio features.
Fox's Red Sparrow (March 2) tells the story of a Russian spy (Jennifer Lawrence) wooed by the CIA to be a double agent. It's based on former CIA officer Jason Matthews' novel, which drew raves for its insights into current spy craft. When Fox exec Emma Watts optioned the book in 2013, she shifted the story from modern-day Russia to 1970s Budapest, nominally to give it a more "timeless" feel — and though Putin has a key role in the book, he was dropped.
Then, after Frances Lawrence came aboard as director, Watts shifted the story back to the present day. As Red Sparrow raced toward a January production start in total secrecy (including encrypted scripts that generate a user audit log), the studio "has been scrambling to reflect what is playing out 24/7 in the news," says a production source.
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